Daniel Sturridge: It's a great feeling
Daniel Sturridge reflected on his goalscoring return to Liverpool's starting line-up by saying: 'It's a great feeling.'
The striker began a Premier League game for the first time since early January at West Ham United on Sunday afternoon, and marked the occasion by netting the opener in a comprehensive 4-0 victory for the Reds.
Sturridge finished with trademark ruthlessness after latching onto a brilliant through-ball from Philippe Coutinho, who went on to score twice himself before Divock Origi rounded matters off with a late fourth.
The win means Liverpool’s fate in terms of qualification for next season’s Champions League remains in their hands going into the final weekend of the season.
“It’s a great feeling,” Sturridge told Sky Sports post-match.
“This was an important game for us, it was a big one. We came here with the right attitude, we knew what we had to do, and it was great to get the victory.”
When asked whether he felt confident when bearing down on West Ham goalkeeper Adrian with the score still 0-0 around 10 minutes before half-time, the No.15 replied: “Of course.
“These are the things that you don’t train on too much, when you’re through one-on-one, because you don’t get that much time, but I felt sharp. I’m glad to be starting, glad to be providing some chances for the boys as well, and as I said, it’s a great victory for us.”
On the prospect of securing a top-four finish against Middlesbrough next Sunday, Sturridge added: “It’s important for everyone at the club. We’ve been good the last few weeks but we maybe should’ve taken more points in some of the games.
“But as I said, it was an important game for us and we rose to the occasion. We showed what we’re about today - we worked hard, we kept the ball well, we did everything the manager asked of us.”